Password Purgatory

The new and exciting world of the Internet has  opened up limitless opportunities for us. We can send instant messages to distant corners of the planet, look up long dead ancestors , order tickets, look up our bank statement and even find a mate! It has changed how we do business and how we interact as a society.

Those of us born before 1970 can still remember when none of this was  possible. We used to write letters and send them by snail mail. Telephones had a rotary dial and long distance was something reserved for bad news such as when someone died. It all sounds backward and difficult in this modern age. However, it was far simpler and less stressful than today. Why? Because we didn't need a user ID, PIN or Password to get through our day.

I have an ongoing war with passwords and trying to remember them all. Every login requires a name and code. I have many old passwords floating around in my head,  and the list is getting bigger. Every program we use at work needs a separate password and they need to meet certain criteria : 8 letters, some numbers, some capitals etc.Then for added security, they need to be changed every 3 months. Sometimes I feel as if we are protecting our national secrets and the world will end if there is a breach.

Getting older makes some of us forgetful. We can remember our teachers from 45 years ago, but we don't know what we had for dinner last night. With all these passwords and login ID's and PIN's it is getting more and more difficult to get the job done. I've broken the cardinal rule and written some of them down, but then I forget where I put the list, or they are out of date, with the frequent changes.

I had a bright idea the other day, I  switched  to E Post for my bills. I thought I was saving the planet with less paper waste etc. I was so proud of myself! But my euphoria was short lived.

The  problem is, I forgot my login and Password. So now I am getting bills I can't review because my password is in purgatory somewhere, waiting to be saved. I tried calling the help desk, but when he asked me the security question, it was my full name. I told him."but that's not a quesion! How can I answer a security question that is not a question??" He replied that this is what I put in the line as the security question and he could not give me any more information for security reasons.. Arrrgh! Short version of a long story, I made a mistake when filling out the online application and now I was locked out of the system because I could not answer the security question. I should have just kept up the snail mail and left E Post to the youngsters. I eventually figured out how to get back into the E Post, but it was a big hassle and a waste of time.

I want the Internet people to figure out a simple way for us to maintain security without all the word juggling. Maybe it's time for a Retinal scanner like they used on those Spy Movies. In the meantime,  my  forgotten passwords remain in Purgatory and their numbers  are increasing every day.